Target's New Swimwear Ads Are Refreshingly Photoshop-Free

Target's new swimwear campaign is filled not only with cute pieces to buy this summer but also with images that haven't been digitally retouched, which means stretch marks and cellulite are all, refreshingly, still there. It's a rarity for any type of advertisement, but especially one that's designed to sell bathing suits.

“Target is committed to empowering women to feel confident in what they wear by offering a variety of style choices," a spokeswoman for company, Jessica Carlson, told Refinery 29. "We loved working with these women because they embody confidence and inspire women to embrace and be proud of who they are, regardless of their size or shape. It was important to us to use photography that represented their true beauty, without filters."

Taken individually, corporations and campaigns that embrace "body positivity" might not seem like much. Sure, it's cool to see your size represented, but you're really just looking for a cute suit, not a lifestyle, right? But over time, it really does add up. When we're bombarded from a young age by posters and billboards featuring "perfect," flaw-free bodies, our own normal, lumpy forms start to feel unusual, even if we know, rationally, that they're not. But if enough mass companies, like Target, use unretouched pictures in their campaigns, they can normalize having a real body—stretch marks and all.